1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a system and technique for generating and maintaining collaborative content in an interactive multi-dimensional space.
2. Related Art
Online websites that offer collaborative content that is created and maintained by multiple users, such as Wikipedia or other online encyclopedias, are increasingly popular. However, the existing software tools (such as markup languages) used on these websites are often limited to 2-dimensional (2-d) content, such as text, images and video. This limitation can make it difficult for the collaborative content to include accurate and useful representations of complicated objects or complicated technical data. For example, it can be difficult to convey the topography (or “physicality”) and function of a four-stroke engine using 2-d images taken from different perspectives or from a 2-d animation of the motion of a piston in the engine. Furthermore, it may also be difficult to convey spatial relationships between components in a complicated object (such as how the components are assembled) or how to diagnose and solve faults using 2-d images or animation.
Interaction among multiple users in 3-dimensional (3-d) virtual environments (which are also referred to as “virtual worlds” or “virtual reality”) is also increasingly popular. However, these virtual environments typically only have limited capabilities for displaying and maintaining content from documents. In particular, while a user of such a virtual environment can import and display content from a word processor or presentation tool in an import window, this content is not coupled to other objects in the virtual environment. Consequently, when the user modifies or manipulates the content in the import window, it typically does not affect the remainder of the virtual environment. Thus, while existing virtual environments facilitate interaction among multiple users, they are typically not able to support the collaborative creation and maintenance of content, such as that provided by online encyclopedias.
Hence, what is needed is a method and a system that facilitates the collaborative creation and maintenance of content without the problems listed above.